Midsummer's Magic

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

Beth was surprised to find it was nearly 3AM before the party started to wind down. She flirted outrageously with Rory, drank too much, and had a great laugh with Ginny and her friends. She was pleasantly pissed when Rory offered to walk her home. They stumbled arm in arm down the lane to her cottage, both giggling when Rory told her they had to be quiet or they would upset the piskies and faeries that came out at night. When they reached her door Rory slurred, "Well, aren't you going to invite me in for a coffee?" and raised his eyebrows. She giggled, and thought, 'What the heck? He was pretty fit after all,' and pulled him into the kitchen. He lunged for her, and pinned her against one of the kitchen units, kissing her, and pulling her body to his. As his hands moved up inside her t-shirt, she pulled away, not really knowing why. 

"I'll just put the kettle on," she mumbled. "Go in and make yourself comfortable," she said and waved her hand towards the living room. He stroked one finger down her cheek and replied, "OK, but don't be long, and I take mine black, one sugar," grinning as he wove through the door. 

As she filled the kettle, her thoughts were jumbled in her head. Why did this not feel right? She had never balked at the idea of one night stands and was always more than eager for good sex with a great looking guy. So why did she feel uneasy about this? Taking her time making the coffee, she mulled over what the problem was and couldn't quite pin it down. Her stomach felt slightly queasy, blamed it on too much tequila, and took the mugs into the living room. Rory was stretched out on her sofa, sound asleep and snoring lightly. Beth was surprised to find relief rather than frustration flood through her and put the mug down by his side. She quietly made her way upstairs to bed alone. Stripping off, she climbed into her bed and took a few sips of coffee but was too tired to finish it. Her head was spinning a little from too much to drink. She turned off the bedside lamp and snuggled under her duvet. As she drifted off to sleep, she was vaguely aware of two people arguing in loud whispers, and thought it must be a couple who had taken a wrong turn down her lane (it was a dead end.) 

"Well, you've really done it this time with your meddling. He is not the one," a woman's voice drifted in through the window. 

"You have an amazing ability at stating the obvious," a man's voice responded harshly. 

"Don't get snippy with me, Jory. You know I'm right." 

"But who was it came to me and whined, 'Oh, Jory, he is so sad if only we could do something and she with a heart full of ice. It's written in the stones that they should be together.'" 

"Well, it is," she responded. "You know the stones never lie, but these things can't be rushed. You know that." 

"To a point, Kerensa, we only have until midsummer's eve to sort this out or both their hearts will be lost forever." 

With this, the woman sighed, "Oh, Jory, I hope we can put this right." 

"At least she isn't sharing her bed with him. I took a peek through the window, and he is asleep on the sofa." 

"That's about the only good thing to come out of you getting your potions wrong again. If the Queen hears about this, we will never get back in her good books." she sighed again. 

"OK, OK," he replied, "I shouldn't have rushed. I wouldn't have gotten Love and Lust mixed up." 

"Yes, but in reality, it's a good thing you did, seeing as you put it in the wrong bottle, you fool." 

With a feeling of unease, Beth got out of bed and stumbled towards her window. What on earth were these two going on about? Leaning out, trying to get her sleepy eyes to focus, she could have sworn she saw two rather small people sitting on her garden wall. In the moonlight, she could see the man was wearing what appeared to be breeches and a pale waistcoat over a sort of fancy shirt. His head was covered by a three pointed hat with bells that jingled when he moved. Rubbing her eyes in astonishment, she then noticed the woman sitting beside him in a long, very fancy gown which shone as if it was made of silk. She wore jewels around her neck, and her blonde hair was set high on her head like an old style beehive. 

"What the..." Beth stammered, and rubbed her eyes again. When she opened them, the couple had disappeared. She stared out the window for a few more seconds and then stepped back to her bed, muttering to herself, "I really must stay away from tequila in future." Falling back onto the bed, she was soon fast asleep.